Daniel Ben Hansen, the man who caused a 2020 fuel tanker crash that trapped the driver and closed the M1 for 13 hours, has paid a $533 fine and lost three demerit points.
Hansen appeared in Southport Magistrates Court in Queensland last month for a hearing relating to one count of driving without undue care and attention.
But Police prosecutor Senior Constable Lewis Butterfield said the hearing would not go ahead and the case would be “finalised in an alternate manner” – an issuing of a Traffic Infringement Notice of $533 and three demerit points.
The matter was adjourned to March 9, with Magistrate Kerry Magee Hansen adding that if Hansen paid the fine by that day he would not need to attend court.
Big Rigs understands that Hansen has since paid the fine before the March 9 deadline.
MUST WATCH: This is the exact moment a fully loaded tanker flips and rolls on the M1 at Helensvale.
The footage shows just how close at least two vehicles came to being crushed. @BrendonWolf9 #9News pic.twitter.com/bpI5b58k5g
— 9News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) January 15, 2020
Hansen was behind the wheel of a Holden Rodeo ute when it clipped the tanker on the M1 at Helensvale, causing it to roll into the path of another vehicle on Magic Millions weekend on the Gold Coast last January.
No one was seriously injured, including the 25-year-old truck driver, but a Queensland Ambulance spokesperson said at the time that four other people were treated on the scene and taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
They included a 21-year-old woman who was covered in fuel and was in a serious but stable condition.
Police said the tanker was carrying 36,000 litres of fuel in six separate compartments, which needed to be drained before the truck could be moved.